The Dispensational Place of John
Part 5
No. 5 Nicodemus and heavenly
things.
"If I have told you earthly things, and ye
believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you heavenly things"
(John 3:12).
The record of the Lord's dealings with
Nicodemus may throw some light upon the way in which seekers after truth
belonging to the great outer circle may be led on and encouraged.
Nicodemus appears three times in this Gospel, viz., John 3:1-12; 7:50-52
and 19:39. In each case the reader's attention is drawn to the fact that
he came by night:
"The same came to Jesus
by night" (3:2).
"He that came to Jesus by
night" (7:50).
"Which at the first came to Jesus by
night"(19:39),
In the first case Nicodemus approached the Lord
with evident desire to learn of Him, but very probably with no other
really fixed idea. Considering the greatness of Nicodemus, who is
described as "the teacher of Israel," and the great wealth which
Rabbinical tradition ascribes to him, his manner of addressing the Lord,
Who was, externally, but a Galilean peasant, was respectful and
conciliating. He called Him "Rabbi," and admitted that God must be with
Him.
The occasion of his second appearance is less
peaceful. A division was coming among the people because of the Lord.
Some said, "Of a truth this is The Prophet," others said, "This is The
Christ," whilst some asked, "Shall Christ come out of Galilee?"
(7:40,41). This division among the common people, however, was not a
matter likely to move a man of the standing of Nicodemus, for the
attitude of the rulers to common people was one of contempt as is
expressed in 7:49, "But this people that knoweth not the Law are
cursed." But what does seem to indicate a move in the direction of faith
on this second occasion is the fact that, *in spite of the Pharisees
having asked, "Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on Him?"
(7:48), Nicodemus had dared to interpose the question, "Doth our law
judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth" (7:51).
Again, while he shared the same unbelief
concerning the resurrection of the Lord as was common among the
disciples, his third appearance finds him coming into the open as a
self-confessed disciple, bringing his offering of myrrh and aloes.
Certainly we may cherish the thought that Nicodemus was numbered among
the 120 who met together in the upper room of Acts 1.
Now, this is the man to whom the Lord said, "If
I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye
believe, if I tell you heavenly things?" It is evident from these words
that all that the Lord had said to Nicodemus up to that point was
concerning "earthly things," "If I have told you earthly things." What
had the Lord told Nicodemus? He had said: -
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. "
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God That which has been born of the flesh is flesh; and that which hath
been born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto thee, Ye
must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it
goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit " (John
3:3-8).
This new birth therefore belongs to earthly
things. ' The Greek word gennao is used in the N.T. for both
begetting and birth. This dual use may be seen in Matt. I:16: "And Jacob
begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom (i.e., Mary, whom being
feminine) was born Jesus." Nicodemus evidently understood the
Lord to speak of birth, but the Lord's words are better understood of
the begetting of the Father. "Again" is anothen = "from above."
It is so translated in 3:31. No sense is made of the verse by
translating it, "He that cometh again." So we hear of authority given
"from above" (19: 11), of the Lord's coat woven "from the top" (19:23),
and many other instances. "Ye must be begotten from above" is a
better rendering of the Lord's words.
In answer to Nicodemus' question, "How?" the
Lord expands His statement, the words "from above" being omitted and "of
water and spirit" substituted. From this passage baptismal regeneration
has been taught, the baptism being that of water. A reference to John
7:38,39 gives guidance: "He that believeth on Me, as the
Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water,
but this spake He of the Spirit." Here we have Scripture for it that
"living water" can be a type of "Spirit." We did not quote fully John
7:39 above, which we now do: "But this spake He of the Spirit, which
they that believe on Him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given: because that Jesus was not yet glorified." This combines the two
thoughts "from above" and "Spirit" referred to in John 3.
In what way are we justified in speaking of the
gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as an "earthly thing?" We cannot so
use it if we mean by "earthly" anything that is sinful or base. But this
is not the meaning of the expression "earthly things" in John 3:12. The
word so translated is epigeios, and is found in I Cor. 15:40,
"There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial." The subject of
this passage is "the resurrection body." "How are the dead raised up?
and with what body do they come?" In the answer we learn that some
resurrection bodies will be celestial, or heavenly (epourania),
while some will be terrestrial or earthly (epigeia), but far from
the earthly being despised the apostle declares that, like the heavenly,
they have their distinct "glory."
Verse 44 adds a further pair of words, "a
natural body," and, "a spiritual body," "natural" being psuchikon,
pertaining to the soul. Inasmuch as the purpose of the ages embraces
things in the heavens and things on earth, and both spheres of
blessedness are to be occupied by a redeemed people, it follows that for
"spiritual blessings in heavenly places," "spiritual" and
"heavenly" resurrection bodies will be necessary, while for the meek,
who are to inherit the earth and enjoy the delights of Paradise with its
twelve manner of fruit, earthly and physical bodies will be required.
Birth from above, therefore, may well be
one of the many "earthly things" which the Lord had to tell
Nicodemus.
Peter who wrote to the "Dispersion," whose
salvation was the salvation of their "souls," a salvation spoken of by
the OT prophets, and whose destiny was to be "a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, and a peculiar people," speaks of this birth from above,
'Being begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (I Pet. 1: 23).
James, who writes to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, says, "Of His
own will begat He us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits of His creatures" (Jas. 1: 18). John, in his first epistle,
has much to say about those who are 'born of God" (see I John 2:29; 3:9;
4:7; 5:14,18). Peter, James and John looked forward to sitting upon
thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Paul's use of the term in I Cor.4:14,15,
and Philemon 10 is not strictly parallel:
As my beloved son I warn you. For though ye
have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many
fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
"
I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I
have begotten in my bonds.